Well, that’s a little more like it. Though it may not seem so, Notre Dame finally looks something like the team it’s expected to be in 2020. Thanks to a little trickery, the Irish find themselves ahead of Duke at halftime, 10-6.
When it looked like another Irish drive would die early, Jay Bramblett successfully executed a late punt. It woke the offense up, as evidenced by Kyren Williams’ 11-yard run, which was added onto by a face-mask penalty, and a nice catch by Jafar Armstrong, who took it 20 yards to the Duke 2. Williams ran it in for the Irish’s first touchdown of the season one play later.
The defense was picked apart on a drive that Duke got down to the Notre Dame 2. With the Blue Devils threatening to retake the lead on third-and-goal, Isaiah Foskey got to Chase Brice and ultimately was credited with a 10-yard sack after a replay review. Charlie Ham salvaged the drive with a 30-yard field, his second of the game and his career.
On the next drive, the Irish had a chance to extend their lead further after Williams caught an Ian Book pass and ran 75 yards to the Duke 11. But Book made an ill-advised throw into traffic, and Lummie Young IV intercepted it in the end zone for a touchback. Book then threw another interception when he got back on the field, but an offsides penalty wiped it out. The drive continued, and Jonathan Doerer kicked a 48-yard field goal as the clock expired on the first half.